
By Brandon Kinsella
19-year-old powerlifter Gerald Martinez brought home gold medals at the Las Vegas Winter Open on Saturday, picking up 1st place in both the junior and the open division at 82.5kg / 181lb, and also winning best overall lifter in the junior division.
The road to gold has not been an easy one for Martinez, a 2018 graduate of FD and current sophomore at UOG. Lots of dedication, hard work, and sacrifice went into the entire journey. Martinez elaborated on some of the sacrifices he had to make in preparation for the competition.
“I started my diet four months out to avoid any serious cutting needed. I went from a lazy 197lbs to 183lbs and I’ve never felt better. I had to change my lifestyle around, and I started noticing results in my training regimen immediately. I started to get stronger which was great because I was at a much lighter weight,” said Martinez.
The hard work paid off for Martinez, as he took home first in his division to go with some impressive numbers:
Lifts
Squat: 200.4kg / 440.9lbs
Bench: 115.2kg / 253.5lbs
Deadlift: 230.5kg / 507.1lbs
Martinez elaborated on how honored he was to be able to represent Guam at the competition.
“Being able to represent the island in the manner that I did was a blessing. I wanted to represent Guam and show how down to Earth and humble we are, but I also wanted to show to never count us out.”
Martinez acknowledged that he couldn’t have accomplished what he did on his own, and gave a big thank you to everyone in his corner that helped him along the way.
“First off I’d like to thank God for answering my prayers, keeping me and my family safe and healthy. I’d also like to thank my other half Leah, for meal prepping for me and handling me and the meet, she did so amazing and was a big part of my performance. My mom and Uncle Bill for the never-ending support and understanding how I was during my prep when I first got out to Vegas. I want to thank my family back home, my Dad, Auntie Kat, my Nana and Papa, everybody, they are always behind me. My friends and extended family. They always got my back, and lastly, my second family: Coach Chris, Josh, Grace, AJ, Bobat, Tone, Romar, Vinnie, and Kevin. I’m missing some people but all these guys and the rest you know who you are, they all guided me and always offered advice and I was just a sponge for all their experience. Lots of people in my corner, I couldn’t have done this alone.”
As for what’s next for Martinez, he says he is going to enjoy a nice off-season and when the next competition rolls around, it’s back to business.


GPS Sports Calendar
February 2023
- SU
- MO
- TU
- WE
- TH
- FR
- SA
Events for January
1st
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
2nd
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
3rd
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL PLAYOFFS
Events for February
4th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
Events for February
6th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
7th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
8th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
9th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
10th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
TRITONS BASEBALL INVITATIONAL FINALS
Events for February
12th
MONSTER ENERGY MOTOCROSS ROUND 2
Events for February
13th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
14th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
15th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for February
16th
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
Events for February
17th
ISA TRACK & FIELD MEET
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
Events for February
18th
BLACK HISTORY MONTH 2K/5K
World Athletics Cross Country Championships
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
Events for February
20th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
21st
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
22nd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL
Events for February
23rd
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
Events for February
24th
ISA GIRLS SOCCER
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL QUARTERFINALS
Events for February
24th
Events for February
25th
Events for February
27th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
ISA BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS
ISA GIRLS SOCCER SEMIFINALS
Events for February
28th
IIAAG BEACH VOLLEYBALL FINALS
ISA BASEBALL LEAGUE SEMIFINALS
IIAAG TENNIS LEAGUE
IIAAG BOYS BASKETBALL SEMIFINALS

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